From home training to Asian Games bronze: Fawaz Bani al-Marja

From the text

Damascus, Sept. 27 (SANA) Fawaz Bani al-Marja spent years training with Syria’s national karate team without competing abroad. On Sept. 22, the 19-year-old stood on the podium in Japan with a bronze medal from the Asian Games. For Bani al-Marja, the medal in the men’s under-75kg kumite was the latest step in a journey that began at home when he was 10. Encouraged by his brother, he spent two years learning the basics of kata and kumite before joining al-Muhafaza Club in Damascus for formal training. There, he said, he also learned the importance of respect and discipline in the sport. His firs…